I always assume it's a shit-headed 14 year who thinks he's edgy and hilarious.

Agreed, except I don't think the 14-year-old is a shit-head, and given the reactions that these things get I'm disappointed that more of the hoaxes aren't being perpetrated by irreverent teenagers.

I know that if these symbols would have stirred up hornets nests like this when I was a kid, we'd have been using them constantly to laugh at the idiots who took them seriously.